There’s little debate over whether Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs will eventually get paid on a level that delivers him one of the richest contracts at his position iin NFL history.
How Wirfs is viewed on the field of play is an entirely different issue, and CBS Sports NFL writer Jeff Kerr thinks the two-time NFL All-Pro may have lost a step as he dropped him two spots to No. 5 in his rankings of the best NFL offensive tackles.
Kerr had Wirfs at No. 4 headed into the 2023 season.
“The transition to left tackle did affect Wirfs’ numbers, but he was still one of the elite players at his position,” Kerr wrote. “Wirfs was still good in pass protection despite playing left tackle for the first time, allowing 20 pressures on 639 pass-blocking snaps (3.1% pressure rate allowed per dropback). The sack numbers did go up for Wirfs, as he allowed five sacks in 2024 after allowing just six over his first three seasons. An ankle injury late in the year slowed down Wirfs, but he was still one of the best at his position in 2023. ”
Wirfs is in the final year of his rookie contract and will make a whopping $18.2 million in 2024 after the Buccaneers picked up his fifth-year extension.
Offensive Tackles Who Ranked Higher Than Wirfs
In a time when NFL position rankings are coming fast and furious ahead of training camp at the end of July, there is no variation when it comes to the No. 1 spot among NFL offensive tackles — San Franciscos 49ers superstar Trent Williams.
After Williams, Kerr’s rankings were No. 2 Penei Sewell (Detroit Lions), No. 3 Tyron Smith (New York Jets) and No. 4 Lane Johnson (Philadelphia Eagles). Sewell leapfrogged Wirfs from No. 10 in 2023 and Kerr dropped Laremy Tunsil (Houston Texans) from No. 3 to No. 11.
In an act that speaks to Williams’ largesse over his position, the 6-year, $138 million contract he signed in March 2021 remains the biggest overall contract signed by an offensive tackle in NFL history.
Wirfs Having Hall of Fame Start to Career
Wirfs has started his career in the manner that indicates he could one day become the first offensive tackle from the Buccaneers to make it to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Wirfs was selected No. 13 overall out of Iowa in 2020 and started every game as a rookie as the Buccaneers won the second Super Bowl in franchise history and he made the PFWAA All-Rookie Team. Wirfs has only missed four games in his career — all in 2022 due to an ankle injury.
He’s a two-time NFL All-Pro — making it at both right tackle and left tackle — and has made three consecutive Pro Bowls dating back to 2021.
Either Wirfs or Buccaneers’ veteran wide receiver Mike Evans will likely make history for the franchise one day — no offensive player who primarily played their career in Tampa Bay has ever made the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
All of the offensive players to wear the Buccaneers’ uniform who are in the Hall of Fame — quarterback Steve Young, wide receiver Tim Brown and offensive guard Randall McDaniel — never played more than two seasons in Tampa Bay.
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Buccaneers’ Wirfs Drops in Preseason OT Rankings